EKTACHROMES
() NATIONAL
Homage to the Virgin
LIGHTS BLAZE through the early morn
ing hours of August 15 in the town of
Huamantla. Before dawn on the Feast
of the Assumption of the Virgin, a statue
of Our Lady will ride in a two-mile pro
cession. Men labor feverishly to decorate
the streets over which the image will
pass. Residents of each block compete
for the best design as they sift sawdust
of different hues through stencils to
create floral patterns.
Finally the lane lies ready. As the figure
of the Virgin moves out of the chapel and
through the still-dark streets, candlelight
flickers on the faces of the devout (oppo
site). Then dawn breaks, and after a
Mass, the statue is returned to the chapel
to await next year's feast.
The artistic talent of Huamantla's men
has earned them an invitation to pattern
the Z6calo, the three-acre central plaza
of Mexico City, for the gala opening of
the Olympic Games in October.
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